Braley endorses one of three Democrats running for U.S. Senate

Congressman Bruce Braley, a Democrat from Waterloo, has endorsed one of the three Democrats who are running for the U.S. Senate. Braley publicly endorsed Roxanne Conlin during a stop this morning in Davenport. Both Braley and Conlin are lawyers.

Conlin and Braley met with union workers from the Davenport area and Conlin told the group she supports the “public option” that’s in the health care reform bill pending in the senate.

“I’ve got grandchildren and I would rather that they pay for health care than that they continue to pay for George Bush’s war in Iraq,” Conlin said. “When you balance those two, I think that health care will cost less than what we have already spent in the Republican administration on the unnecessary war and tax breaks for the very wealthy.”

Conlin faces two other eastern Iowa Democrats in the June primary for the chance to face-off against Republican Senator Chuck Grassley next fall. Grassley was among those who voted in September of 2008 to use tax dollars to save failing financial institutions. Conlin said if congress is going to bail out Wall Street, they can’t ignore Main Street.

“I won’t rest until every person in the state of Iowa who wants a job has a job,” Conlin said. “I think there is no issue more important than jobs, jobs, jobs, and as far as I can see the Republicans generally don’t have a lot of interest in that.”

Conlin isn’t the only lawyer in the race for the Iowa Democratic Party’s 2010 U.S. Senate nomination. Tom Fiegen of Clarence is a bankruptcy attorney. The third candidate, Bob Krause of Fairfield, is a former state legislator.